Autoline on Autoblog with John McElroy

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HOW MANY BRANDS ARE TOO MANY?

With gas prices soaring and SUV sales sinking, General Motors just put its HUMMER brand under "strategic review." That's generally the term used when a company is getting ready to dump a brand. And that begs the question, how many brands does a car company really need?

There are a number of companies that have multiple brands, like GM (Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, Cadillac, GMC, Saab, Saturn, Opel, Holden, Vauxhaul), Ford (Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo), Fiat (Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Ferrari, Maserati) and Volkswagen (VW, Audi, Seat, Skoda, Lamborghini, Bentley, Bugatti). Some of these brands are strong and successful. Some are not.

The big, successful automakers these days seem to have only two brands, a mass market brand and a luxury one. That's the model Toyota, Honda, and Nissan are following. And that sure seems to be the business model that will work best for the foreseeable future.

John McElroy is host of the TV program "Autoline Detroit". Every week he brings his unique insights as an auto industry insider to Autoblog readers. Follow the jump to continue reading this week's editorial.Continue reading Autoline on Autoblog with John McElroy

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